Application for park and ride at Thames Valley Park

Wokingham Borough Council has submitted a planning application for a £3.6 million park and ride near Thames Valley Park (TVP).

The proposed location is on an undeveloped site west of the roundabout between the A3290 and Thames Valley Park Drive next to the Waterside Centre.

A park and ride at this location will help reduce traffic heading west into Reading, ease congestion on London Road at Cemetery Junction and cut car emissions, particularly during rush hour.

These proposals are not part of the East Reading Mass Rapid Transit Route, which is a separate project being led by Reading Borough Council.

The planning application for the TVP park and ride details 277 parking spaces, five motorcycle bays, 12 cycle stands and a sheltered bus stop served by the TVP Shuttle subject to agreement with Thames Valley Park.

“If our plans get a green light, we could start construction next year making this our third park and ride in the borough, following the opening of Winnersh Triangle and Mereoak,” said Cllr Malcolm Richards, executive member for highways and transport.

“This planning application has taken on board responses from the consultation we held at the end of 2015.

“Park and rides are part of a comprehensive package to help people make sustainable travel choices.

“We’ve been working with local bus companies to deliver attractive and reliable services, opened a number of cycleways including the A329 route which will see the next phase start early next year, and made a number of highways improvements and introduced schemes as part of the My Journey Wokingham initiative.”

The TVP park and ride would be funded by a Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) grant and contributions from the private sector. LEP funding would come from central government instead of local taxation.

Now the planning application has been submitted, people can comment on it as part of the four-week statutory consultation. The closing date for public feedback is July 20.